This is “The RAD Position” with ASRT CEO and
Executive Director Melissa Pergola, a podcast for medical imaging and
radiation therapy professionals.
Melissa Pergola:
Hi there and welcome back to “The RAD Position” podcast. I'm your host,
Melissa Pergola.
Ray Arambula: And I'm her podcast partner, Ray Arambula,
joining you virtually today.
Melissa Pergola: And thank you for listening. Please
subscribe so you can get notifications about new episodes. And Ray, today we
are so excited about this episode, right?
Ray Arambula: We are very excited. We have some amazing
guests on our show today.
Melissa Pergola: Yes, we are here with Leslie Winter, CEO of
the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology, and Liana
Watson, the CEO of the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. Also, we
have a bonus segment today where I'm going to talk to Steve Hardy, the chief
operating officer for the ASRT Foundation, and we're going to talk about a
really cool meeting that is happening with our corporate partners.
We'll be right back after this short message.
ARRT Ad: At the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists
we're focused on promoting safe, high quality patient care through
credentialing, collaboration and advocacy. Join the nearly 360,000 registered
technologists in delivering exceptional patient care through medical imaging
and radiation therapy.
Advance your career with one or more of ARRT's 13 credentials. Continue your
path to excellence with ARRT. Discover more credentials at arrt.org.
Melissa Pergola: So now I'm going to go ahead and introduce
my esteemed colleagues, starting with Miss Leslie Winter. Leslie Winter is the
current chief executive officer of the Joint Review Committee on Education in
Radiologic Technology, or the JRCERT, which we'll say from now on. OK. She's
been in this role since 2007 but employed there since 1995. Leslie started her
educational journey at Western Illinois University, where she earned her
Bachelor of Science and then obtained her associate of allied health degree in
radiography from Triton College.
Leslie earned her Master of Science degree in health administration from the
College of St. Francis. She's held numerous roles in medical imaging, from a
CT [computed tomography] technologist to a department administrator, educator,
program director, JRCERT site visitor and now her current role as CEO with the
JRCERT. That's a lot.
Her service and dedication to the profession, especially in the arena of
quality education and patient safety, have made a profound difference. I would
like to welcome Leslie Winter.
Leslie Winter: Thank you, Melissa.
Melissa Pergola: You are welcome.
Leslie Winter: I want to thank you, the ASRT, for the
opportunity to participate in the podcast.
Melissa Pergola: Yeah, awesome. We're so excited you're here.
All right, now I will introduce Dr. Liana Watson. Dr. Watson serves as the
chief executive officer of the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists
and has worked for the ARRT since 2017. Dr. Watson is a certified association
executive and medical imaging professional with more than 15 years’ experience
in managing nonprofit associations, leading highly motivated and capable
teams, developing and overseeing strategic and operational planning, and
implementing organizational performance and process improvements. She's
provided support to ARRT trustees, staff and volunteers in successfully
administering national certification programs for medical imaging and
radiation therapy professionals that promote high-quality patient care through
credentialing, collaboration and advocacy.
Prior to her work with the ARRT, she served in several leadership positions
with the ASRT and the ASRT Foundation. Dr. Watson earned her CAE [certified
association executive] in 2015 and has been a volunteer for the American
Society of Association Executives since 2012. She earned a Doctor of
Management in organizational leadership from the University of Phoenix in
2007, and her positions with the ARRT and ASRT follow a 25-year career as a
medical imaging professional, radiology department director, enterprise
project manager for the Regional West Center in Nebraska. She has served as an
active volunteer for the ARRT, ASRT and ASRT Foundation for many years and is
a published author. Welcome, Liana.
Liana Watson: Thank you, Melissa. It's great to be here.
Melissa Pergola: So thrilled to have you.
Ray Arambula: I feel honored to be alongside these three
incredible CEOs. I have to admit it's also a little bit intimidating. Now, you
all have been working pretty closely together for the last couple of years.
Melissa and I have some questions we want to ask you individually, but first
I'm curious, how did this idea of collaboration among your organizations come
about?
Liana Watson: I think being some of the most prominent
organizations in medical imaging and radiation therapy, it just made sense
that we meet regularly to talk about issues that are common to our profession,
see what we could do to impact the profession in a positive way and work
together. And that's really what we've tried to do over the last two years.
Leslie Winter: I was determined when you took over as CEO
that the three of us were going to get together and work together to move the
profession forward. It's so important that we're one instead of three
separate. We're much stronger together.
Ray Arambula: So, it sounds like this was planned. It didn't
just happen organically, but it sounds like it continues to grow and evolve.
Liana Watson: And I think one of the things that we really
need to talk about is we all have different missions and visions. There are
things that we don't agree with, but we try to find our common grounds where
we can work together.
Leslie Winter: And I think we're very respectful of each
mission.
Melissa Pergola: Right.
Liana Watson: Yeah, we are.
Leslie Winter: And how we achieve those missions.
Melissa Pergola: Yeah. Yeah. Because they are very different
missions, but really with one ultimate goal, which is making sure that our
patients get the highest quality, safest care, right? Whether that's through
credentialing or accreditation or the professional association providing
resources. So, I think it's not that hard to always find that common ground.
Leslie Winter: Right, right.
Melissa Pergola: Yeah.
Ray Arambula: So, I imagine there's been many benefits
working together as sister organizations, notably the Consensus Committee that
took place last February. So, could you tell us a little bit more about that
and how that all came together?
Liana Watson: Our very first meeting, we started talking
about the issues with the profession and started doing some brainstorming
about what we — the three organizations — could do, and then we started
thinking, Well, it shouldn't just be us.Right?
Melissa Pergola: Yes, yes.
Liana Watson: We needed to be bringing in other organizations
into this because we aren't the only ones who are part of this profession.
Leslie Winter: The issues were bigger than just the three of
us.
Melissa Pergola: Yes.
Leslie Winter: And we needed that input from everyone else
who was involved in the profession.
Melissa Pergola: I think that's one of the most important
things that has happened post the Consensus Committee is the subgroups that
have been created that are addressing the findings, and our organizations and
others that were there are leading those subgroups.
There are lots of opportunities for organizations, all of our organizations
and even corporate, to get involved in these big issues that we have going on.
Liana Watson: Yeah. And I think it's really important that
we've also invited physician organizations —
Melissa Pergola: Yes.
Liana Watson: — you know, ACR [American College of
Radiology], ASTRO [American Society for Radiation Oncology], to join us too.
Because they're realizing that our workforce issues are impacting them too.
Melissa Pergola: Yes.
Liana Watson: And they want to join us in trying to help
figure out how we can impact the workforce issues and try to figure out how to
get more people into our profession, right? And people are stepping up.
Leslie Winter: They are.
Liana Watson: Organizations are stepping up.
Leslie Winter: They are. And I think if we don't keep on the
subcommittees, the subgroups, we're not going to meet those objectives.
Melissa Pergola: Right.
Leslie Winter: Those actions will never get resolved.
Melissa Pergola: Yeah.
Leslie Winter: So it's good that we are meeting with them
quarterly —
Melissa Pergola: Yes.
Leslie Winter: — to see where they are as far as progress and
meeting those action items.
Melissa Pergola: Bringing people together.
Leslie Winter: Yeah.
Melissa Pergola: Forging relationships and actually working
together to get things done. It is, it's really exciting.
Ray Arambula: Well, thank you for sharing that. And you'll be
able to find that white paper in the research section of the ASRT website. So,
regarding the JRCERT, we're talking about accreditation, not certification.
So, what exactly is accreditation and why is it important?
Leslie Winter: Well, accreditation, the overall reaching of
accreditation is educational quality. Accreditation is a process of peer
external review that scrutinizes universities, colleges, programs to assure
that they're providing quality education.
Melissa Pergola: Yep.
Leslie Winter: It also assures the students and public that
the institution meets a defined set of standards of quality. It also makes
programs and colleges and universities be accountable for the integrity of
their work. Accreditation also allows students to participate in Title IV
federal funding, financial aid.
Melissa Pergola: Yes.
Leslie Winter: So that's really important. There's basically
two types of accreditation. There's institutional accreditation where the
institutional accreditor looks at the university or community college as a
whole.
And then there's programmatic accreditation where that accreditor looks at
programs within an institution or a college, such as radiography programs or
radiation therapy programs. So, the JRCERT is a programmatic accreditor. We
accredit programs in radiography, radiation therapy, magnetic resonance and
medical dosimetry.
We have over 700 programs across the country —
Melissa Pergola: Wow.
Leslie Winter: — that we're responsible for. So it's a big
job. So how does the JRCERT assure quality education? That's an important
question. So, we do have a defined set of standards. Actually, we have a set
of standards for each of those disciplines, and they differ a little, but not
greatly.
And periodically, a program must submit what we, a report to the JRC, and
that's what's called a self-study report. That self-study report sent to the
office and reviewed by JRCERT professional staff. And then, we have a peer
review that goes into the program to assure that what is in that self-study is
valid.
Melissa Pergola: Yeah.
Leslie Winter: So, the peer review team is credentialed,
professional radiographers, radiation therapists, depending on the type of
program that we're visiting, and they go in to validate the self-study. They
talk, they interview students and faculty, they assure that faculty are
qualified, they assure that the professional curriculum is being taught in its
entire content, and then they assure that the program has the resources to
meet its mission.
So, after the site visit, all that information goes back to the JRCERT Board
of Directors. This is kind of an abbreviated accreditation workshop. And all
that information from the site visitors goes to our board of directors for an
accreditation decision. And the board can award our eight years, which is our
gold seal. It's our maximum accreditation that we award. We can also, if
there's concerns that haven't been addressed by the program, we could award
them either five year, and then they could get a probation status if there's
multiple significant current concerns.
Melissa Pergola: So how do changes at the United States
Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
impact the JRCERT and ultimately our education programs?
Leslie Winter: That's a great question Melissa. So, we are
recognized by the United States Department of Education, which I'm going to
refer to as the department.
Melissa Pergola: OK.
Leslie Winter: So just like we scrutinize our programs by
them submitting a self-study and doing a site visit and all that. We have to
do the same thing to maintain our recognition for the United States Department
of Education and CHEA.
So we have to have policies and procedures and resources in place, when we're
up for this re-recognition process, that assures the department and CHEA that
we are the leading authority to accredit imaging science programs. So, the
regulations and guidelines really dictate how we operate. Now with USDE and
CHEA, their big push was transparency, that students and the public have the
accreditation information to make good, sound decisions when looking at
programs.
Melissa Pergola: Yes.
Leslie Winter: So, if you go onto our website and type in a
program, their credential and examination pass rate is right there. Job
placement rate is there.
Melissa Pergola, Liana Watson: Wow.
Leslie Winter: OK. If there's also a link to the program's
website, if you click on that link, it takes you right to the program's home
page. And on that home page, the student should be able to find tuition and
fees, grading criteria is required, admission processes. It's quite a lengthy
list —
Melissa Pergola: Wow. That’s a lot.
Leslie Winter: — of what needs to be on their website. So,
one of our jobs is to check to make sure that when that self-study comes in,
that all that information is public. And we really believe that transparency,
you know, is all about accountability.
Melissa Pergola: Yep.
Leslie Winter: So.
Melissa Pergola: Yeah.
Leslie Winter: If you're interested in a program, do your
homework.
Melissa Pergola, Liana Watson: Yeah.
Leslie Winter: Do due diligence, you know, look at that data
to determine which program is best for you.
Melissa Pergola: Yeah. Great advice. Great advice. So, what
role do you see the JRCERT playing in this time of change for our profession?
Leslie Winter: I think we've talked about it already, —
Melissa Pergola: Yeah.
Leslie Winter: — Melissa, and it's the Consensus Committee.
So, moving the profession forward and keeping the Consensus, the subgroups,
moving, I think is critical.
As far as an organization, supporting our programs to be the best they can be,
to provide excellence in education, so we can continue to graduate competent
entry-level practitioners, clinicians, and hopefully, counteract some of the
workforce shortages that we have. So.
Melissa Pergola: Yeah, a lot of work to be done.
Leslie Winter: A lot of work to be done.
Ray Arambula: All right, so Liana, first question for you.
The ARRT recently updated the mission and vision. Can you talk about why that
change was made and how will this affect ARRT's role in the future?
Liana Watson: Sure, thanks Ray, and you're correct. We
recently updated our mission and vision. ARRT's vision is exceptional patient
care for all, provided by qualified medical imaging and radiation therapy
professionals.
And the key word in our vision really is qualified. This means that we define
who meets our professional standards that are necessary to perform the role of
a registered technologist or R.T. And that's what this is all about. Our
mission is to promote safe, high-quality patient care through credentialing,
collaboration and advocacy.
Melissa Pergola: I know those are, is that new? Those three…?
Liana Watson: Collaboration and advocacy are new.
Melissa Pergola: I love that. Yeah.
Liana Watson: Yes. So, we thought it was very, very important
to put that out there to say that we are advocates for high-quality patient
care being performed by qualified individuals. So, through credentialing, we
actually develop and administer examinations that assess the knowledge and
skills that are needed by individuals for the tasks that are typically
required by professional practice for the discipline.
And most individuals believe that it's the entry-level radiographer, the CT
technologist or the MRI [magnetic resonance imaging] technologist, but we're
going beyond that. We believe that there are other levels of individuals that
do perform medical imaging and radiation therapy that come before the
radiographer, like the limited x-ray machine operators, that should be held to
a professional standard also.
Melissa Pergola: Sure.
Liana Watson: That we should have a standard that they should
meet. They should have a national credential also. And that we [points to
Leslie and Melissa] should be setting what those standards are for them.
Melissa Pergola: Yes.
Liana Watson: So, I know our white paper talks about that as
part of our career ladder.
Melissa Pergola: It does. Yes.
Liana Watson: So the ARRT has been talking about the
potential of moving the limited scope x-ray machine operator to be a national
credential based off of the recommendations of the Consensus white paper.
Yeah. So.
Melissa Pergola: And so, for those who might not know how it
currently works, and I'll ask you to talk about this, but, currently, some
states have limited x-ray machine operators in their laws, right? And many of
those states then contract with you currently —
Liana Watson: Yes.
Melissa Pergola: — but they control, you tell me, set scores,
requirements. So, this would be different.
Liana Watson: Yes.
Melissa Pergola: This would be ARRT setting standards.
Liana Watson: Yes.
Melissa Pergola: Oh, OK. Yeah.
Liana Watson: One of the issues that we have with the current
system is those individuals are not allowed if they are a limited scope x-ray
machine operator in one state, if they move to a different state, they have to
start all over again.
Melissa Pergola: Oh. Yes.
Liana Watson: They're not recognized as a limited scope
operator —
Melissa Pergola: No reciprocity.
Liana Watson: — in another state. No reciprocity because the
standards are so different state to state.
Melissa Pergola: Yes.
Liana Watson: So that's one of the issues we’re hoping we can
alleviate.
Leslie Winter: I hope it comes to fruition for you, Liana,
because those programs, if some are really programs when they're a weeklong,
but they need structure.
Melissa Pergola: Yes.
Leslie Winter: They need structure.
Melissa Pergola: Yeah.
Leslie Winter: So, in accreditation standards would really
help in that area also. So.
Melissa Pergola: There we go.
Leslie Winter: We're just waiting for you. It’s on our bucket
list.
Liana Watson: Yep.
Melissa Pergola: And, of course, we already have a curriculum
for the limited x-ray machine operators and they're already a member group for
the ASRT. So that would be all of the other pieces.
Leslie Winter: Yeah. And we do have standards out there. We
have not had anybody come on board as of yet. We've had a number of inquiries
—
Liana Watson: Oh, that’s good.
Leslie Winter: — but no one has jumped.
Liana Watson: And we see this actually as a way to actually
get more people interested in our profession. This is kind of a way for them
to dip their toe in, right?
Melissa Pergola: Right. Working on that pipeline issue too.
Liana Watson: That’s right. Maybe, maybe this is a way to see
if this is something I really want to do. Yes. And if they really love it,
there may be a way for us to do a bridge between the limited scope x-ray and
radiography without them having to go clear back to school again and start all
over again, right?
Melissa Pergola: Yeah.
Liana Watson: I mean we need to be thinking outside of the
box —
Leslie Winter: Yeah, we do.
Liana Watson: — to try to impact our workforce issues at this
point in time. So.
Leslie Winter: And the technologists out there need to
understand they're taking jobs that they're not going to want.
Liana Watson: Right. They are.
Leslie Winter: You know, you don't go through, you know, the
time it takes you to get through to be a radiographer and want to work in an
emergency care clinic.
Melissa Pergola: Right, right. And you know, the same fears
were experienced by the nursing profession years ago.
Leslie Winter: Right.
Melissa Pergola: When CNA [certified nursing assistant] came
and LPN [licensed practical nurse] and, you know, all these years later
they're seeing that they didn't take the nurses’ jobs and, right, there is a
role to play in that pipeline.
Liana Watson: Yeah.
Melissa Pergola: It's interesting. It's also an opportunity
for the ASRT affiliates, our state affiliates, because we have one state in
particular, I know Mississippi has done a good job of sort of owning the
limited x-ray machine operator in their state, and they provide all of the
continuing education for them.
So, it's even an opportunity for our affiliates for membership and maybe a
revenue source with continuing education. So, we're always trying to figure
out ways to help our affiliates get bigger and better because we need them. We
need them for legislative issues. We need them to sort of bring up the next
generation of leaders.
So, it's an opportunity for affiliates as well.
Liana Watson: Yeah. Yeah, I agree.
Ray Arambula: So that's a lot of information, Liana. We
appreciate that. But it sounds like you, there is a lot going on. And to that,
it seems like you guys launched a new video series called “Discover ARRT.” Can
you tell us more about that?
Liana Watson: Sure, this past fall we did launch a new video
series called “Discover ARRT.”
Melissa Pergola: Cool.
Liana Watson: And the goal of this series is to give our
educators valuable insights into ARRT and to equip them with the information
that they need to enhance their effectiveness in their roles as the connectors
between ARRT and our students.
So, all of the videos are prerecorded and they're hosted on ARRT's YouTube
channel, which is @TheARRT. And the videos are available on demand, so the
viewers don't have to log in at a specific time or dates to access them, and
they are available so they can watch them multiple times if they need to,
because some of them are kind of intense. So, to date we've launched three
videos. So we have an introduction or promo video that really is an
introduction to what the “Discover ARRT” video series is.
And then we have another one that kind of runs our educators through what the
Pearson VUE process is.
Melissa Pergola: Oh, yes.
Liana Watson: So, Pearson VUE is the testing center that we
use for our examinations and there's a lot of things that the students have to
do to get their examinations scheduled with Pearson VUE and what happens if
they can't make their appointment and how they walk through that process and
all of those kinds of things. So, we have a video that helps educators learn
more about that process so they can help their students through them. We also
have another one that introduces educators about how we determine what our
passing scores are —
Melissa Pergola: Oh, yes.
Liana Watson: —which is all about psychometrics. And I don't
know about you guys, but that's a really involved process and really
confusing, but many people probably don't understand that, it's, our exam
process is really involved and it's all done by volunteers, actually.
Melissa Pergola: Yes.
Liana Watson: We have subject matter experts, registered
technologists, that meet as groups that write exam questions, that pull
together our exam forms.
They're the ones who actually do what we call standard settings, which is what
determines what our pass scores are. So it is registered technologists, not
ARRT employees —
Melissa Pergola: Yes.
Liana Watson: — who set all of those parameters for the
examinations. So, we have a video that talks about that whole process too, out
there.
The topics for these videos actually come from the educators, so if you're
watching the videos, keep giving us ideas. Put them down in the comments.
That's where we're getting the ideas. We actually do surveys of our educators,
and we get ideas from there also. So, educators who are watching this, please
give us more ideas.
We want to help you help our students and we want to help you be better
educators. So, keep giving us ideas.
Leslie Winter: You made an interesting comment. Volunteers.
Melissa Pergola: Yes.
Leslie Winter: Oh my gosh, they're so critical to the success
of all of our organizations.
Melissa Pergola: Yes.
Leslie Winter: We couldn't do site visits without volunteers.
Melissa Pergola: Right.
Leslie Winter: Test writing in the House of Delegates, all
volunteers.
Melissa Pergola: Yes.
Leslie Winter: They're just such a critical —
Melissa Pergola: Yes.
Leslie Winter: — part of our success.
Melissa Pergola: All right. Well, I have learned a lot and
it's awesome having you both here. But now we have to do something that I
don't necessarily love, but we do it all the time. And so that means Ray is
going to lead us in some sort of game.
Liana Watson: Oh.
Melissa Pergola: As now that we have video, Ray says you can
see me roll my eyes.
Liana Watson: Yeah.
Melissa Pergola: Go ahead, Ray.
Leslie Winter: A game.
Ray Arambula: It's a fun game. And it's going to, we're
calling this game “Rapid-fire Collaboration.”
Melissa Pergola: Oh no.
Ray Arambula: I created a mix of fun, thought-provoking,
industry-related questions. OK. If a collaboration were a movie, what would
the title be?
Melissa Pergola: Stronger together. That's boring. Rocky 27.
I don’t know.
Leslie Winter: Walk this line.
Melissa Pergola, Liana Watson, Ray Arambula: Ooh.
Melissa Pergola: OK. Walk this line.
Ray Arambula: I like it. OK, let's ask an individual one, and
I'll ask this to Liana first. If you had to trade places with one of the other
CEOs for a day, who would it be and why?
Liana Watson: Oh.
Melissa Pergola: Oh. Wow.
Liana Watson: I'm going to pick Melissa because ASRT is in a
warmer place right now.
Melissa Pergola: That's true. That’s true.
Ray Arambula: . OK. A final question.
Melissa Pergola: OK.
Ray Arambula: What's one thing you admire about each other's
leadership role?
Melissa Pergola: [pointing at Leslie] Legacy and sustained
impact. With less.
Leslie Winter: Oh, thank you.
Melissa Pergola: [pointing at Liana] And I would say vast
variety of leadership experience and making a difference. That was easy.
Leslie Winter: Yeah. I was just going to put, lump, you two
together —
Melissa Pergola: Yeah.
Leslie Winter: —because the changes you've made already for
your organizations has been incredible.
Liana Watson: Oh. Thanks, Leslie.
Melissa Pergola: Thank you,
Leslie Winter: So, kudos.
Liana Watson: Yeah, I think Leslie brings history to our
group because she can tell us the background to a lot of things, right? Yeah.
Leslie Winter: That's what my staff think too. I always go,
do you remember? No, you don't because you weren't here 20 years ago. So.
Liana Watson: Melissa pushes us to do things that we
otherwise wouldn't do.
We would have probably never done this podcast if she wouldn't have said, “Hey
guys, we're going to do this.”
Melissa Pergola: And you all were fabulous. See, it was fun.
Leslie Winter: It was fun. Yeah.
Melissa Pergola: Now we're going to do something that we do
called the We See You segment. And Ray, do we have a message from one of our
listeners for the We See You segment?
Ray Arambula: Yes, we do, in fact. And this comes from
Shawnlee Void, who says, “I'm very interested in becoming a radiologic
technologist. I am writing this in hopes to receive any information you can
share to help me on my journey.” That's a great question for all three of you,
I think.
Melissa Pergola: That is a great question, especially with
the people sitting at this table. So, I will defer to the two of you.
Liana Watson: I think first, research. Research a program.
Leslie Winter: That's what I was going to say. Go to the web,
go to our web, jrcert.org. There's data on all our programs, pass rates, like
I said earlier, and job placement rates. The award letter of the program is on
the web, so you can click on that link and see the award letter. If they're
eight years, they have no issues. Do your due diligence.
Melissa Pergola: Yes.
Leslie Winter: You know, check out the tuition fee and do
your homework to find the best program that fits your needs to start.
Liana Watson: And if you're in an area that doesn't have a
JRCERT program, then you need to be contacting the schools that are in your
area, if you don't have the means to move someplace that does have a JRCERT
program. Contact the programs in your area and really start digging. See if
you can find students to talk to them to see what they think about the
programs. Start asking questions about the clinical sites —
Melissa Pergola, Leslie Winter: Yes.
Liana Watson: — with those programs, the experiences that the
students have with those clinical sites, how much time they spend in the
clinical sites, what the pass rates are for those schools. They need to
provide you with that information.
Leslie Winter: Yeah.
Liana Watson: If they don't want to tell you that
information, then you probably don't want to be going to those programs.
Leslie Winter: As far as the clinical sites go, Liana, they
probably need to investigate how far those clinical sites are because they
have a budget impact on them if they're traveling to geographically dispersed
settings.
Liana Watson: Right. Yes.
Melissa Pergola: Yeah.
Liana Watson: In terms of when you're towards the end of a
program, we publish information about our, all of the examinations.
You can go to our website, download the handbooks for each of our
certifications and it tells you exactly what's on the exam, tells you exactly
how many questions there's going to be in each of the content areas. That
should be your outline when you're studying for the exam. We tell you exactly
what's going to be on that exam. Don't give you the questions, but we tell you
what to study and you really need to pay attention to that.
Melissa Pergola: And I would say so, Shawnlee, you're saying
radiologic technologist, but I don't know if you mean a radiographer, an R.T.,
if you mean one of our other disciplines. So, if you go to
asrt.org/BeSeen, you can learn about our
different professions. The other thing I would say is once you get in your
program, become a member. We have student membership with so many resources.
So, we have practice exams, we have an SLDP, our Student to Leadership
Development Program, where you can really learn about the profession, learn
about how to become a leader while you're still a student.
And there are many other resources. So go to asrt.org and look up what all of
the benefits are that you can have to help you through your student program
and then also once you become a radiographer or radiologic technologist as
well.
So, as we close out, I just want to tell you again, just how amazing it has
been to have you here. Not only to have you here, but to have the partnership
that we have. And again, I want to thank you for being here and talking to our
listeners.
Liana Watson: Oh, thanks for inviting us. It's been fun.
Leslie Winter: It's been a great opportunity. Thanks,
Melissa. Appreciate it.
We'll be right back after this short message.
ASRT Ad: ASRT members, it is time to take action. Cast your
votes in the ASRT election for both the annual ballot and the special ballot.
Vote for the candidates who will impact the ASRT and the profession, please
visit asrt.org/Vote to cast your vote. It
will take you less than five minutes. You can vote for candidates in each
category or only those that matter the most to you. Be sure to vote before
March 4th at asrt.org/Vote. Have your voice
heard.
Melissa Pergola: Now we're pumped to be talking with Steve
Hardy. Steve Hardy joined the ASRT in October 2017 and serves as the chief
operating officer for the ASRT Foundation and executive vice president of the
development and corporate relations departments for ASRT.
Previously, Steve worked for more than 25 years in leadership positions
ranging from director of imaging and radiation oncology, chief dosimetrist to
clinical coordinator and adjunct professor. Welcome Steve.
Steve Hardy: Thank you for having me.
Ray Arambula: So, I wanted to ask you a question around the
Corporate Roundtable that's coming up. What is the purpose of the Foundation
Corporate Roundtable and how does it fit into and tie into the work of the
Consensus Committee?
Steve Hardy: So, the ASRT Foundation Corporate Roundtable was
established in 1999 to provide industry partners, mostly original equipment
manufacturers, a neutral space to tackle common issues affecting the medical
imaging and radiation therapy profession.
Since its inception, the group has authored many timely white papers on topics
such as the role of medical imaging technologists and radiation therapists in
the delivery of safe patient care and their role in implementing artificial
intelligence in the workplace. Industry partners are affected by the six areas
that the white paper identified —
Melissa Pergola: Sure.
Steve Hardy: — and want medical imaging and radiation therapy
professionals to know they are committed to staying in step with the work of
ASRT, ARRT, and JRCERT in achieving the outcomes necessary to strengthen the
profession and ensure a bright future.
Their participation in the ASRT Foundation Corporate Roundtable provides a
seamless way to keep them informed and in step with this and other initiatives
of ASRT so that we can collectively make progress. The group felt it was
important to convene this working group to do just that.
Melissa Pergola: Yeah.
Ray Arambula: Yeah. It seems like this big funnel, right?
Where you're collecting and gathering all this data.
Melissa Pergola: Yes.
Ray Arambula: And I think between the work of the Corporate
Roundtable and Consensus Committee, we get these big efforts that are now
aligned and working towards the common goals. So yeah, it sounds really good.
Melissa Pergola: Yeah. And it's so important that we're all
working together, right?
Steve Hardy: Absolutely.
Melissa Pergola: Yeah. Not just those 15 organizations that
came together initially, but our corporate partners, they're critical.
Steve Hardy: Yes. Yes. And they very much want to be a part
of the solution.
Melissa Pergola: So, what will be the major focus of the
group during this meeting?
Steve Hardy: So, prior to the meeting, a survey was deployed
to the participants to get a better understanding of how industry perceives
the current state of affairs for each of the six focus areas to provide
examples of initiatives their company is working on related to each focus,
plus an opportunity to provide specific input into actions that could further
advance efforts in each area.
We also asked each company to rank their ability to support each of the
initiatives so that we can benefit from a broader collaboration and utilize
their specific experience and expertise to enhance the work of the Consensus
Committee and keep aligned with our strategic goals without duplicating
efforts.
Melissa Pergola: Yeah. Yeah. It's exciting.
Ray Arambula: That is exciting.
Melissa Pergola: So maybe we'll have to have you on later on
in the year to talk about what happened —
Ray Arambula: The results, yeah.
Melissa Pergola: — during the meeting and yeah, some of the
things that maybe our corporate partners are going to be working on.
Steve Hardy: Yeah. I'm sure there will be many opportunities
as this, all of this, unfolds.
Melissa Pergola: Yeah, that sounds great. Thank you so much,
Steve. Not just for coming on with us today to talk about this, but for
everything that you do for the ASRT, for our members, for all medical imaging
and radiation therapy professionals, and of course, ultimately our patients.
Steve Hardy: Thank you. Wonderful to be here.
Ray Arambula: Thank you, Steve.
OK, so now we're going to transition into our updates.
Melissa Pergola: Oh, our updates. So don't put yourself in a
bad position.
Ray Arambula: Stay up to date with “The RAD Position”.
Melissa Pergola: So, as a member-focused organization, ASRT
relies on volunteers to serve in roles that ensure the Society meets its
mission to advance and elevate the medical imaging and radiation therapy
profession and to enhance the quality and safety of patient care.
One way to do this is in the ASRT annual election. The election kicked off on
February 11th, and I encourage every ASRT member to get involved and vote.
Right, Ray? It's one way that you can truly have your voice heard.
Ray Arambula: It is, and it's important.
Melissa Pergola: So, this is your opportunity to elect
members of the Board of Directors and the chapter leaders who will shape the
future of the ASRT and the profession.
The way you can do this? Visit
asrt.org/Election to learn about the
candidates and to cast your vote.
Ray Arambula: What a great episode. This is very fun. I
learned a lot.
Melissa Pergola: Yeah.
Ray Arambula: It was really nice to see Liana and Leslie and
just to hear a lot about the collaboration that you guys have undertaken in
the last few years.
Melissa Pergola: Yeah.
Ray Arambula: It's really exciting to even know what's
upcoming in the future as well. So.
Melissa Pergola: It was so much fun having them on. I think
they had fun too.
Ray Arambula: So be sure to subscribe, share this podcast
with your colleagues, friends, and family.
Melissa Pergola: And to all of our medical imaging and
radiation therapy professionals, be seen.
Ray Arambula: And stay rad.